Resources for the Northern and Southern California power outages

Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) is in the opening phase of a very large, planned blackout in Northern California. This will affect some 800,000 customers, and already some 500,000 are without power today. This affects not just homes but stores, schools, and even hospitals will lose power for anywhere from 24 hours up to a week.

KTLA’s Twitter account isn’t doing much on the outages, yet, but this is where to look if they really do kick off.

As is the case with PG&E, SoCal Edison’s website is under very heavy load, so you’ll probably have better luck staying current via external sources.

We will update these two lists as we run across other resources, so please alert us to anything we’re missing via comments or email.

Why is this happening?

These intentional outages are being done to reduce wildfire risk around power equipment in areas with high winds. PG&E has been warning about this possibility since last year, at least.

As for who’s to blame, some are making the case that this is PG&E’s fault for paying out stock dividends and otherwise enriching its investors and managers instead of doing the kind of maintenance work that would make these blackouts less necessary.

It’s also possible that the blackouts are a ploy by the utility to force the state government to grant more money for maintenance and upgrades.

Whatever the reason for the outages, we’re not even at the peak of the 2019 wildfire season, so California residents should expect that this is just the start of something that could be a lot bigger.

How to get ready

In planned power outage scenarios, where some select infrastructure is kept going and you can get a cell tower signal, information is the most critical prep of all. You’ll need to know what’s happening and where, and for that you need to keep your cell phone charged.

We spent over 100 hours testing the top portable USB solar panels, so there should be zero guesswork left for this pick. Scroll to the bottom to see all the test data that we published, or just look for our top picks at the beginning of the article.

Water should be near the top of your list, right under power. We subjected the top portable water containers to all sorts abuse — stacking, drop tests, carrying, etc. Our picks are good for scenarios from power outages to earthquakes, and everything in between.

Don’t neglect medicine and hygiene — especially since some hospitals in affected areas won’t have power. Our individual first-aid kit and home medical supplies lists were put together by some of the world’s top experts in survival medicine, and they’re broken into levels that you can buy progressively as you build up your supplies.

Finally, if you’re looking to get into off-grid power beyond just picking up a solar charger for your phone, then the beginner’s guide to off-grid power will help you make sense of all the terms, concepts, and products.

Some other tips to help you through the outage:

Check in with family and neighbors regularly.

Fill containers of water (~85% full) and place them in your freezer. They’ll help keep your freezer cold for longer, and when they thaw you can drink them.

The old “keep at least half a tank in your car” also applies to your critical comms gear, like cell phones and radios. Don’t let those batteries drain too far.

Have a plan to get out if things really start to look unsafe, and then actually get out when it’s called for. Your stuff can always be replaced.

Social media reports of gas lines, bare shelves

We’re tracking a number of prepper groups and other social media platforms where Northern California residents are posting pictures of the outages, and of gas lines and bare supermarket shelves.

Update 10/10/19, 9:23AM CT: I added a PG&E tweet listing resource centers to that last bullet point in the NorCal list.

It looks like people are rushing out at the last minute for “batteries, ice, and booze.” Again with the batteries! People, rechargeable NiMH batteries plus a USB charger plus a $40 solar panel will solve this battery problem once and for all. Just do it.

Update 10/10/19, 11:02AM CT: A story from this past summer: PG&E plans $11 million in performance bonuses for execs.

Here’s a reddit thread with locals talking about their experiences in the outage.

Jon Stokes is the co-founder of Ars Technica, former editor of WIRED, founding editor of AllOutdoor, and contributing editor to The Firearm Blog. Jon's a lifelong knife collector, outdoorsman, and prepper.

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